Katja Hoax
Overview
Katja Hoax is a Midlander Hyur whose blood runs thick with the sands of Ul’dah, while her heart and mind claim her firmly Ishgardian. Commonly found traveling between the previously closed city and the warmer southern lands, Katja spends most of her time forming connections to better her business. Outwardly warm and more than a little flirtatious, she's begun to hold herself at a more respectable distance than she once used to for reasons she cares not to explain. Playful and sometimes secretive, Katja holds her business – inherited from her adoptive family – above nearly all other things, and considers attacks on her personal honor, morals, and pride to be the most grievous of errors.
Well known in Ishgard, Katja returned to the southern lands after a chance meeting with a distant relative, Kian Daas. While she would never stoop to admitting that her life might have been too comfortable, or that she might have been happy to settle for what she had, she has enjoyed her time away from the frozen north, gaining more contacts to grow her treasured business, and more friends who have brightened up the lonely days she didn’t even realize she had been living. It is with their help that Katja has come to learn that the past is not always the road to the future.
- Clan: Midlander
- Gender: Female
- Age: 26
- Orientation: Straight
- Marital Status: Polyamorous
- Height: 68 ilms
- Weight: 155 ponze
- Guardian: Halone
- Homeland: Ishgard
- Family: Unlisted
- Residence: Broken Scale Smith & Trade
- Free Company: Might & Magitek (Outside Contractor)
- Grand Company: None
- Occupation: Metalworker
- Disciplines: Smith/Brawler
- Alignment: Type 1 Chaotic Neutral
Table of Contents
History
Born Katherine Daas, she fell firmly in the middle of seven children, near instantly securing herself as a mild disappointment to her father by being a female rather than a male. Despite all of his blustering, the inclusion of three sons after her – a set of triplets that he crowed were a gift from the Twelve – turned his ire away from her, and allowed her the benefit of learning what she could. From her mother, she learned the arts of patience and stitching, though only enough to handle sewing her own simple clothes back together.
Despite her father's disinterest in her, Katherine thrived under the attention of her brothers. The eldest, a boy seven years older than her named Eadric, took to her with abandon. The two were nigh inseparable, and cared for their siblings when their parents were too busy for them. From him, she learned the joy of acceptance and love. Of all her family, he was the dearest to her. As their family settled, her mother barren after the birth of the triplets, Katherine and Eadric often joked about running away together when they were older – it never occurred her that he would no doubt be long gone by the time she reached maturity.
Not long before her seventh birthday, a terrible storm wracked the small merchant caravan the family traveled with. When a flash flood snatched the youngest of the family away, Eadric took to the waters in hopes of rescuing the vanished child. Unfortunately, he never returned and the bodies of both were never recovered. Devastated by the loss of her best friend, Katherine doubled her effort to please her father in the wake of the painful loss. She lasted six months under his tutelage, learning the merchant business inside and out, never knowing that her mother's mind had long since lost itself to insanity, and that grief had turned her father into a far crueler man.
One day, she was assigned with her older brothers to watch the younger during a market of several different merchants. It was suggested that the play a game of hide-and-seek, and in hopes of distracting the children, Katherine accepted. After several rounds, when the time came for her to count and find, the family left the girl behind without warning – Katherine left to count out of sight of them. She never heard her brothers cry for her in the busy marketplace, nor would she learn of her mother's passing later, the woman stricken by grief after her husband told her that her daughter had gone missing.
Katherine remained, alone and afraid, at the crossings as one caravan after another left with no sign of her family. As day turned to night, she was joined by an Elezen woman who introduced herself as Amalthea, and when it became clear that the girl was not going to be picked up, the woman offered the comforts of their own cart, as they had sold all of their goods and had the space. So it was that Katherine left Ul’dah, and began her journey northward, where she would remain for the rest of her youth and beyond.
As expected, Katherine did not adjust to the cooler climate well. Her first season was a mix of nightmares and tantrums, often calmed only by Amalthea’s patience and her husband’s quick thinking. The barren couple did their best to treat the child as they would have any blood child of their own, and it was not long before Amalthea began to see Katherine as her daughter – Elezen or not.
Not long after Katherine’s thirteenth birthday, in the depths of a frigid winter, Amalthea lost the battle with an illness that had taken her earlier in the year. She passed with her husband working in the forge to vent his grief and with Katherine beside her, combing her hair away from her face in any attempt to help her mother-figure find some comfort in her last hours. Amalthea’s passing darkened the household for two years as Eregrim struggled to uphold Amalthea’s dying wish while Katherine became unruly and difficult to deal with.
It was only after an altercation where they came to blows in the summer of her fifteenth year that the two finally seemed to find their fit. Having just struck the girl for the first time since having taken her into his home, Eregrim saw that Katherine, like himself, had simply been looking for an outlet for all of her hurt. That very night, he purchased tools to fit her hand and brought her into the previously barred shop, taking her under his wing as an apprentice.
Eregrim was not a gentle teacher. Katherine realized quickly that the forge and shop were as dear to him as Amalthea’s weaving and homemaking had been, and she threw herself into his work with everything she had. Not wishing to simply please him as she had tried so hard to do for her own father all those years ago, Katherine showed an incredible aptitude for taking the smith’s work and making it better, reducing turnaround times and driving the hardest bargains that any Elezen trader in Ishgard had ever known. With Katherine at his side, Eregrim forged the small shop into a well-known business in the city, later opening a trade portion which he allowed Katherine to head.
She was eighteen when Eregrim’s health began failing, and after several accidents in the shop while he tried to work, finally managed to convince him to retire when one such event cost him the use of his arm. He passed a handful of moons later, revealing to Katherine that he and Amalthea had long since adopted her as their own, and all of his worldly possessions would now be hers.
At twenty, she had made a name for herself – not only as a capable metalworker, but as a troublemaker the likes of which most Elezen hadn’t seen outside of heretics. Eventually, Katherine renamed herself to Katja and took the surname ‘Hoax,’ which had long since been a moniker for her more underground dealings during her rebellious years. She fell in love, unknowingly, and as the scattered remnants of the relationship blew around Ishgard, soon gained another quirk – she never lied.
A chance meeting in Ishgard reunited her with her Ul’dahn roots, and as the gates of the city were flung wide for adventurers, she left her shop in the capable hands of her apprentices and traveled southward to not only accompany the grumpy Kian Daas, but to forge new trade lines and contacts.
This period has served not only as a time for the growth of her business, but also as personal growth as she’s faced with the reality of her own choices and fears, and attempts to find which regrets are best kept and which should be discarded.
Only in attempting to finally return to Ishgard during its present turmoil has she uncovered the darker plots that some have started in order to keep her out of the city she calls home, and the depths these unknown opponents will go to in order to get what they want.
PersonalityOutwardly, Katja is incredibly warm and overtly flirtatious – she has absolutely no qualms in using racy language to bring a blush to someone’s cheeks, and she cares little what gender they are. For her, she enjoys the little skip to someone’s steps after they’ve received an honest compliment. With such power comes the responsibility of knowing how best to use it, and she’s more than capable of toning her behavior down if she’s asked or if she innately detects that her words are unwanted.
When it comes to business, Katja’s behavior changes depending on the business being done. She knows how to use her assets to secure a deal and has no shame in doing what needs to be done. She can be flirtatious or coy, sometimes devious and impish. If the deal being done is exceedingly formal, her behavior reflects the upbringing that was carefully imprinted upon her by the patient Amalthea – it has been commented that she could be mistaken for the daughter of the most upper crust Ul’dahn merchants, or a child of a noble Ishgardian family.
At her very worst, Katja is unafraid to unleash the anger that burns within her, and she is blind to friend or foe when the haze of bloodlust settles in. All play is absent from her, and her honesty becomes absolutely brutal and honed in on inflicting the most emotional and mental pain rather than the physical – she is keenly aware of which type of pain scars worst. She is not, however, beyond physical altercations.
Those closest to her realize that Katja wears her personality as the armor around her more vulnerable self, keeping her from getting hurt more deeply than what she’s already done by her own hand.
- Cold Weather
- Forge Heat
- Carnal Activities
- Cats
- Children
- Traveling
- Reading
- Elezen Men
- Dancing
- Music
- Being Abandoned
- Hot Weather
- The Syndicate
- Most Merchants
- Greed
- Most Elezen Women
- Dishonesty
- Racism
- Whiskers (Three-Legged Tabby)
- Favorite Food: Meat!
- Favorite Drink: Spiced Rum
- Favorite Color: Purple
- Favorite Place: Coerthas
AppearanceKatja features slightly broader shoulders and a stronger upper body than most of her kin, understandable given the hard physical labor that is part of her job. She is not overtly muscled, carrying more than enough curve to her to keep her feminine, but there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that when she moves, there is considerable strength.
Her personal pride in her body is obvious in how she dresses. While in the cooler climate of the northern lands, she wears more formal garments that reflect her Ishgardian upbringing – albeit most of them are more what you’d find on a man, but with feminine touches. In the southern lands, she practically displays herself not unlike a paid woman might when attracting clients, wearing clothes that leave only just enough to the imagination.
Her most striking features are her eyes, which are a pale green flecked with gold, and the numerous scars she bears on her body. Of these, the worst are on her legs – a bullet hole on a calf, and a few scars up near the apex of her inner thigh on the same leg. Sometimes, she can be seen rubbing the leg as though it pains her. On her side is a fairly large tattoo – a white fox in a Doman style. When she moves, the tail seems to change from one to many, but perhaps it’s simply a trick of the light.
TalentsKatja is a skilled metalworker with a focus on Ishgardian weaponry, from form to function. Armor and weapons of all types give her no issues at all, and she is exceptional at eyeballing dimensions and sizes, rarely crafting in err. For challenge, she has recently picked up the more delicate work of goldsmithing, excelling in it and utilizing it to make her creations even more beautiful.
Primarily a brawler best known for a mean right-hook in a bar fight, Katja has some mild training in stance and form over several combat disciplines. She shines in hand-to-hand, but is more likely to lose a battle over someone formally trained simply due to her habit of letting her passion outstrip her focus.
More recently, she’s been spotted in the training gear of one who works with guns of several different varieties. While she has not been seen using the weapon itself, there is a distinct ease with her handling of several – except the one black flintlock she wears on her hip. She seems to hold a deep hatred for the weapon, masked behind a neutral expression with all the fire in her eyes.
Social Network
Mother
Evera was a wonderful woman and a silver-tongued merchant who loved her only daughter very much. She was distraught at the loss of another of her children, and Katja’s abandonment – when revealed – led to her taking her life amidst the grip of insanity.
Father
Omor and Katja never truly saw eye to eye, as he saw her as something lower than the rest of his children. He delighted in seeing her struggle to please him, and was the one who decided to leave her behind at the crossroads.
Keeper
Gentle and sweet, Amalthea treated Katja with nothing but love and kindness, even during the worst of her adjustments. While no replacement for the love of her blood-mother, she gave Katja all of herself and more, and Katja’s deepest regret is that she never uttered the words the woman wanted to hear.
Keeper
It took some time for the two to adjust to one another, but Katja has never forgotten the quiet patience the man had with her, nor the gifts he gave her – not of gil or items, but of knowledge and joy. That she never called him ‘Father’ still gives her a pang of regret.
First Love
Saegar and Katja met when they were young, and caused a great deal of trouble together before settling into their own personal responsibilities. As each came into their own, they came together and Saegar courted Katja as best he knew. Unfortunately, her own insecurities and fears destroyed the loving relationship and turned it violent. His brutal murder during the riots forced Katja to face the fact she’d loved him true, and never told him such.
Cousin
The grumpy, but handsome, cousin who changed Katja’s world one cold day. While initially guarded towards her, he’s now openly protective of her and frequently resides at her shop, tending to her cat and his business while she travels.
Mother
Well mannered and worldly, Glioca forms a grounding point for the wandering girl that is only rivaled by her husband, A'rklonn. Glioca's maternal behavior and logic are a key guiding force for Katja when the girl is sensible enough to ask for help, and the simple fact that the woman is responsible for her still being alive has placed an unwavering bond between the two, though it's unlikely that Glioca recognizes it.
Father
As filled with fire as Katja herself, the playful flirtations between the two developed beyond what both might have originally foreseen. Their relationship often leaves Katja feeling unsure with herself, but there is no doubt within her heart that she loves the man, no matter the shaky ground beneath their feet. Though his patience is sometimes strained with her, the leaps and bounds of progress the broken girl has made is mostly by his guidance - earning him a permanent spot in her heart and soul where she lets so few enter.
The Lover
Playful companions who tempt at more, Aedan and Kat play like children in public, and act on all that tension when they catch moments alone. Busy as their personal lives tend to be, it’s more common to see them apart – but they are one another’s staunchest allies, and Katja knows that she need only call for him to have him at her side.
Might & Magitek
Intimidating in his wisdom and skill, Katja delights in teasing the fellow Ishgardian until he’s damn near scarlet. She respects his past and enjoys hearing what little he’ll divulge of his marriage and children, as if that knowledge somehow helps close her own gaping emotional wounds. While tension remains in their interactions, the two have settled as close friends with a professional relationship.
Might & Magitek
There’s some history there that Katja sometimes laughs about, but anything that once was hasn’t been repeated – despite her affectionate teasing. She’s fond of the man and goes to him when she wants good food, good drink, and just a patient ear.
Might & Magitek
Gen and Katja have an easy friendship born of respectful business, and very good ear-rubbings. As one of the few Miqo’te she regularly interacts with, he’s something of an oddity to her, and she is happy to rub his ears when her heart begins to ache for the presence of her cat. He probably should never know why she does what she does.
Might & Magitek
The two have an uneasy demeanor around one another, though Katja will never claim it is undeserved. In coming to the defense of another member of his company, he proved that he is a loyal man to those he counts as friends. His attempts to clear the air have not gone unnoticed, but neither one is particularly jumping at the chance to close the gap.
Might & Magitek
The Keeper serves as Katja’s therapist, and knows the secrets which the woman could never bring herself to tell anyone, even those dearest to her. They have something of a familial bond, though Kiipa tends to take a more maternal stance with the Hyur.
Might & Magitek
Katja is fairly certain the girl dislikes her deeply, but given that the dislike stems from being on the wrong end of a terrible bad mood, she finds it unnecessary to feed the divide. Out of respect to Anton, Katja keeps herself at a polite distance with the girl. Time will tell if the two can be friends, but neither is making the push for it right now.
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Common Rumors
Rare Rumors
Very Rare Rumors
PC Rumors
Gallery
OOC InformationRoleplay
✨ IC Frequency: Katja is primarily a role-play character with little intention on progressing her through PvE content that doesn’t need to be done. Generally, just approaching is enough to start something off – but if you’re super uncertain, shoot me a tell and we can talk! ✨ Character Injury: I’m pretty good at tormenting my own character, but in the event of an altercation, know that I give permission up to, but not including, death of the character. ✨ Sexy Times: Not really going to sugarcoat this bit, but Katja’s what many would term as an ‘ethical slut.’ She has no shame in her attractions being known, but even she is capable of saying no. If you are uncomfortable with this as a player, please just shoot me a quick little tell or, even better, make sure your character shuts her down fast. ✨ Potential Issues: Katja’s background is filled with unsavory topics that many might wish to avoid. Some of the larger ones are prostitution (forced and willing), blackmail (victim and witness), sexual assault, and murder. While these aren’t uncovered upon first meeting, pursuing a friendship with this character can touch on these subjects. Please let me know if you’d prefer them glossed – Katja herself is very careful about confirming a character’s wish to know something before progressing. ✨ Interactions Listing: I’m actually fairly bad at keeping these updated. Because I use the wiki to keep my character’s progression straight, it won’t be uncommon to see the interactions grow. I might trim out those who are negatives and remain negatives for too long, but as long as the character holds some interest to Katja, they’ll likely end up there. Especially those with wiki pages of their own.
Footnotes
✨ Player Info: US Player; PST ✨ Server: Balmung ✨ Free Company: Might & Magitek ✨ Wiki Templates: Fancy Character Template ; Modified by Suen Shyu and Khyra Luriihn |
